Sliding door structure



Match 9, 1943. A. WASBERG 2,313,106.

I SLIDING DOOR STRUCTURE I Filed June 28, 1941 PIC-3.1.

INVENTOR; v-.-AxEl WASBEBG ATT RN Patent ed Mar. 9, 19 43 Axel Washers, Chicago, 111., assignor to Chicago Railway Equipment Company, Ohicago, Ill., a

corporation of lllinoi Application June 28, 1941, Serial No. 400,234

14 Claims.

The invention relates to sliding doors such as are in general use, for example, on railway house cars and'is particularly adapted for use in connection with "automobile type of cars in which a pair of doors slide towards each other to close a larger opening than is usually provided, one of the doors being termed an auxiliary door and carrying a post, at its forward end which may be locked with the car sill and plate and form an abutment and post member for the other door.-

The main object of the invention is to resist the passage of air with dirt, moisture or other 'foreign matter from the exterior of the door past the forward edge of the door to the interior of the door. This general object and other detail objects as will appear hereafter are attained by the structures illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Flgure 1 is a side elevation of a railway house car with automobile type doors.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line2-2 of Figure 1 but drawn toan enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a detail section of the meeting edges of the doors shown in Figures 1 and 2 and drawn on an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 44 of Figure 3 and illustrating the structure at the bottom of the door joint.

5, Figures 5 and 6 correspond to Figure 3 but illustrate other forms of the invention.

The car body illustrated in Figures 1-4 may be and bottom to the car body by data is not shown and forming no part of the present rivention.

The front member ll of the auxiliarigdoor is shown as a pressing with a part 2I riveted to the door panel and extending beyond the edge of the panel and offset outwardly at 22 to pro vide a shoulder and an inclined flange 23. Auxiliary door post 29 also comprises a pressing with apart 24 riveted to the door panel IB and to framing member I! and extending beyond the edge of the door panel and ofiset inwardly at 25 v and terminating in an inwardly projecting flange 26. The main door framing member I3-consists of a Z-shaped pressing with one flange 27 extending towards the front edge of the door and secured to the door panel I2. Element 2I and the adjacent portion of panel'I2 are substantiallyaligned, longitudinally of the car, with panel I6 of door III and when the doors are closed these elements enter the U- or V-shaped space between auxiliary door elements23 and 25 with the forward edge of element 21 abutting the shoulder formed by oifset 22. A strip 28, which may be of rigid material but preferably is of yielding material, is secured to flange 26 of the auxiliary door post and extends therefrom outwardly and rearwardly towards flange 29 and is arranged to contact with the front portion of door 9 when of any well known construction and includes a side wall I, a side sill 2, a floor 3 having a threshold plate 4 projecting outwardly beyond sill 2. The body side wall includes posts 5 and 6 at opposite ends of the door opening. Brackets -'I on the side sill carry a track 8 extending below the door opening and beyond the same and mounting the doors 9 and III on ball bearings II.

Preferably the doors are of steel construction, door 9' including a main-panel I2 and framing the latter is closed to form a Weatherstrip.

Member I3 and element 23 form a triangular pocket opening outwardly of the doors and facing towards th right. Elements 2.5, 28, I2 and 21 form another pocket opening outwardly of the doors and facing/towards the left. Obviously f these Pockets are closed from the interior of the car andform successive baIiles or traps for thepassage of air, moisture, cinderadirt or other foreign matter from the exterior of the doors,

' or car body, past their abutting edges to the comprising an upright, front member I3, an upright rear member I4 and horizontal members I5 extending between members I3 and Il,--and door It including a main panel I6 and framing comprising an upright front' member I1, an upright rear member I8fand horizontal members I9 extending between members I1 and I 8.. Door 9 may be termed the main door and door III the auxiliary. door, and the latter is prpvided. with an auxiliary post 20 forming a part of the auxiliary I door andmovable therewith if the full door openinterior of the doors, or car body.

Figure 4 illustrates the closure of the gap between elements 25 and I2 and 21 at the bottom of the door. The lower end of element 25 isinclined forwardly and downwardly as indicated at 29 so as to discharge to the outer edge of the threshold plate any water and dirt. which may be trapped in the-inner pocket, element 29 terminating at 30' Just above the inclined portion 29 of element 28.

Figure 5 illustrates another form-of the invention in which the portion of the auxiliary door post 40 overlapping the main door includes a U- shaped indentation I forming 'a pocket elongated somewhat transversely of the door with 1118 is to beused but otherwise is secured at top it outer end partially closed by the projecting portion of the main door panel 42 and the associated framing member 43. Preferably, but not necessarily, a flexible strip 44 is secured to the auxiliary door post and yieldingly contacts with the adjacent portion of the main door.

Figure 6 illustrates another form of the invention in which the door panels and 52, their edgings 53 and 54, the auxiliary door post 55, and the associated structure correspond to that shown in Figure 3, but the inner pocket forming element 56 applied to the auxiliary door post 55 comprises a channel with one flange 51 welded or riveted to the adjacent portion of the auxiliary door post extending longitudinally of the car. This structure does not include the flexible feature shown in the other forms of the invention but, obviously, the same may be added by making th channel of flexible material, as is element 28 in Figure 3, or by adding a separate flexible Weatherstrip element, as indicated at 44 in Figure 5.

It has been suggested heretofore that a car body side wall may be provided with outwardly projecting elements forming successive pockets for bailling the passage of aircurrents past the edge of the door to the interior of the car body, and Patents Nos. 2,114,756, issued April 19, 1938, and 2,226,419, issued December 24, 1940, both to the present applicant, disclose such arrangements. But these structures are-not adapted for weatherproofing the joint between the abutting edges of the meeting doors, the bodies of which obviously should lie in the same general vertical plane, and the provision of successive pockets for abutting edges as disclosed in these patents would be impractical if applied to the abutting edges because they would require the doors to be positioned in different planes transversely of the car and hence project one door outwardly of the car beyond the permissible clearance limits or cut down the inside width of the car. The' present arrangement avoids such a result and, at the same time, does not reduce the effective-inside width of the car which is limited at the meeting edges of the door by the inwardly projecting portion of the auxiliary door post.

It may be desirable to arrange a group of three successive pockets, in place of two as shown, and such an arrangement is shown in another application by the present inventor, filed September 5, 1942, Serial N0. 457,405.

1 The arrangements described tend to overcome discrepancies in the interfltting of movable car parts as may be due to the warpage of the door forming members, the driving of rivets; and the misalignment of one car part and another. The discrepancies normally present in car structures are aggravated where two interfltting parts are movably mounted upon the car body as with automobile door structures of the class described. Even when contact between the door edges is tight upon the closing of the doors, there will be considerable working of the doors, during travel .of the car due to the weaving of the long car body as its spaced truckstravel over the inequalities of the track and road bed, which contributes to the difliculty of maintaining the doors weathparting from the spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of such modifications as come within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a car sliding door having a body panel and an auxiliary post with an ex terior face secured to one of the upright marginal portions of said panel, said post having elements forming a pocket positioned inwardly of the car from the exterior face of the post and having a closed inner end and an open end facing. towards the exterior of.the door opening, and another door having an upright marginal portion movable into cooperative relation with said post to close the door opening and provided with a member overlying said pocket open end when the doors are in closed position.

2. A structure as described in claim 1 in which the post carrying door includes a part overlying the pocket closing member on the other door,

when the doors are closed, and forms with said member another pocket with a closed inner end and an open end facing towards the exterior of the door opening.

3. In combination, a pair of sliding doors movable into closed position with their adjacent edges abutting each other, there being a post' opening and inwardly from the edge of the door formed by said oifset part,'and a member on the other door overlying the open end of said pocket when the doors are closed.

4. A structure as described in claim 3 in which the free edge of the pocket forming element is flexible and, when the doors are open, projects into the path of movement of the forward edge of the other door.

5. A structure as described in claim 3 in which the pocket forming element comprises a channelshaped member with one of its legs secured to the offset portion of the post member and with its other legextending inwardly from the plane of the transverse face of the post member defining the door opening.

6. In combination, a pair of sliding doors movable edgewise into closed position with respective members on their adjacent edges abutting each other, there being elements on said edges overlapping and cooperating with said members to form successive pockets facing in opposite directions longitudinally of the doors and each having a closed inner end and sides flaring towards an open end facing towards the exterior of the door opening and baiiling the admission of air and matter carried thereby to the interior of the doors.

7. A structure as described in claim 6 in which the pockets are abreast of each other transversely of the doors.

8. In. combination, a pal of sliding doors movable into closed position with their adjacent edges abutting each other, there being a post member secured to the marginal portion of one of said doors, and a weather-battling pocket formed on said post member inwardly of the outer face of the post member and having its inner end closed and its outer end open and presented towards the exterior of the door opening, and an element on the other door overlying and closing said pocket open end when the doors are closed,

g 2,813,106 said post member including a portion extending exteriorly of the pocket closing element on the other door and forming with the latter another pocket g towards the exterior of the doors, the e being a flexible weatherstripelement associated with the pocket on one door and yieldingly engaging the other door. I

9. In combination, a pair of sliding doors movable edgewise into closed position with respective members on their adjacent edges abutting each other, there being elements on said edges overlapping and cooperating with said members i to form successive pockets, the inner end and sides of each pocket being closed'from the space at the inner side of the doors and the sides of the pockets flaring towards an open end facing towards the exterior of the doorsand bailiin the admission of air and matter carried thereby to the space at the interior of the doors.

10. In combination,- a pair of sliding doors movable into closed position with their adjacent edges abutting each other, there being a post member secured to the marginal portion of one of said doors, and a weather-bathing pocket .formed on said post member inwardly of the outer face of the post member and having its inner end and sides closed from the space at the comprising a body-panel and framing members at the margins thereof, the framing on the ad.1a

cent margins of the twodoors in luding overlapping elements forming successive pockets closed from the space at the inner side of the doors, each having a relatively small opening directed outwardly from said space whereby air and matter carried thereby tending to pass from the space at the outer side of the doors to the space at the inner side of the doors is trapped, the body panels of the doors lying in the same general plane and one of the pockets resulting from the pocket forming elements being positioned inwardly of said plane and the other pocket being positioned outwardly of said plane.

12. In a railway car, a door post, and a sliding door, said post having elements forming a pocket positioned inwardly of the car from the exterior of said post and having a cl'osed inner end and an open end facing exteriorly of the door opening, and said door having an upright I marginal portion movable into cooperation with inner sides of the doors and having its outer end said post and provided with a member overlying said pocket open end when the door is in closed position.

13. A structure as described in claim 12 which includes a member on the post overlying the pocket closing member on the door, when the door is closed, and forming with said member another pocket with a closed inner end and with an open end facing exteriorly of the door openmg. I

14. A structure as described in claim 12' which I includes an element of yielding material with g one edge secured to the post and the other edge extending into the path of movement of the door member overlying the open end of the pocket when the door is closed. AXEL WASBERG. 

